A burst of pain exploded in my cheek, and a ringing noise buzzed in my ear. A chain reaction was set off. My mind blurred, my vision clouded, and my body moved before my mother could scream my name. 

“Reiko!” 

But my hand had already swept past, grabbing the plate on the tablet and smashing it into my father’s head. The pieces shattered at the impact, falling to the ground around him. 

He stared at me, unmoving and seemingly in shock as the blood trickled from his forehead. His trembling fingers reached up to brush away the blood on his forehead, pulling back to look at the redness on his fingertips. “Y-You actually dare…” The anger in his voice was so heavy that it seemed to crush his breath as he began to struggle to breath. 

“You don’t get to yell at me, at Keisuke, or at mom ever again. We won’t live under your control anymore, so leave.” I stated, enunciating every word through gritted teeth. Blood dripped from my hand where the plate had shattered and cut the skin as the pieces fell between my fingertips. 

Father looked at me as though truly seeing me for the first time. 

I calmly took out my phone from my pocket and took pictures of my injured hand and my face. 

“W-What are you doing, Rei-chan?” Mom asked with a stutter; fear and confusion apparent in her eyes. 

I flickered a glance in her direction before returning to my phone. “Blackmail.” I said, looking up at my father. 

At this word, my mother blinked, and then her expression changed. A smile sprang on her face. There was no doubt she had some sort of twisted misunderstanding. 

“You delete those pictures right now.” Father’s voice was low and firm, but there was a faint uncertainty in his voice. “Delete them or else I won’t send you any money at all.”

I laughed then. This man, my father, was a pathetic excuse for a human being, and I don’t know why I spent most of my previous life seeking his approval. No wonder I had turned into such a selfish poor excuse of a person previously. “I think you’ve misunderstood the meaning of ‘blackmail.’ You’re supposed to be doing what I say, not the other way around.” I closed my phone and put it back in my pocket, reaching out for a napkin on the table to wipe away the blood and remnants of porcelain in my wounds. “You’re going to send us money to continue to live comfortably. I don’t need more or less than what is required. But don’t worry, I’m not a shitty person like you nor do I want to live using your dirty money forever. You’ll send us money just until we’re of legal age, like any dutiful father should.” 

“Rei-chan?” Mother looked at me, confused at my words. She was too wrapped up in her misunderstanding. 

“What? You thought I was going to make him stay?” I said in a calm voice. “No way in hell. He’s going to provide us money just until I can start making my own.” She looked at me in shock. “And if you don’t, I’ll ruin the very reputation you pride yourself on.” My last sentence was aimed at my father as I gave him a smile with a promise. 

He flinched in response.

Walking to the kitchen sink, I cleaned my wounds, leaving my parents speechless behind me. Then I grabbed a plastic bag, filling it with ice from the freezer and left the kitchen. I jogged up the stairs and knocked on Kei-chan’s door. 

“Nee-san?” came his quiet whisper as the door opened just a sliver. 

I gently smiled at him. “It’s me.” We were going to be okay, him and me. I wasn’t going to let them hurt us anymore. 

Thankfully, my wounds weren't too bad so luckily Kei-chan didn't really notice anything wrong. Well, even if he did, he didn't say much anyway. That night, Kei-chan and I slept in the same room just like when we were kids. After the fight between my parents, Kei-chan seemed to rely on me even more, which made me happy but also sad. A young boy should be able to rely on his parents, but our parents weren’t suitable. So, I had to step in and be his parent now. I wasn’t going to let Kei-chan go down the same dark path that he had before. 

Despite this resolve, it took me a long time to fall asleep. I was afraid that by closing my eyes, I would return to my previous life. The changes that I made here were only a dream. Maybe I was in a coma too in reality, just like Kei-chan was. 

However, my fears were unfounded, and I woke up to a bright morning with Kei-chan snoring peacefully at my side. 

When light began to fill the room, I finally got out of bed and headed downstairs. The broken plate shards had been left on the table, and the kitchen was still as messy as when I had left it.

“Che.” I grabbed a broom and cleaned everything up in the kitchen. When taking out the trash, I noticed that my father’s shoes were missing. He must’ve left last night. 

Good riddance. I thought in my heart. 

Tossing the trash out, I chanced upon Asuka’s grandmother who was out watering the garden. 

“Good morning, you’re up early, Reiko-chan.” Grandma Kudo smiled warmly at me. Asuka’s parents had passed away in a car accident when she was a child, so she was taken in by her paternal grandmother who lived alone. Grandma Kudo and Asuka only had each other left as relatives, so they were close. I somewhat envied Asuka’s generous love from Grandma Kudo, but I know that Asuka didn’t have it easy growing up without parents either. Each person had their own set of troubles, I guess. 

“En,” I answered Grandma Kudo with a nod of my head. “Good morning, obaa-san.” Anyway, I liked Asuka’s grandmother who was warm and kind; she always smelled of rice and flowers, which should’ve been an odd combination but I loved it. It was a homey and comforting scent. 

“If you haven’t eaten breakfast yet, you should come over. Asuka-chan hasn’t woken up, but I can wake her up.” 

“No, thank you, obaa-san. But I’ll come hang out with Asuka later!” I said cheerfully as I bid her farewell and returned to the house. I went back to the kitchen and began to cook a simple breakfast. In my previous life, I couldn’t cook at all until I became a working adult and had to save money. I also reheated some simple side dishes from last night and set the table for two.

Mom wouldn’t wake up until the late afternoon, and Kei-chan should probably be up soon. Little kids’ bodies operated differently, and somehow, they had the energy to be awake so early. However, usually at this time, I’d be up and out for a morning run, so… Guess I was also pretty young still too. 

I laughed at the ridiculous thought. 

“Nee-san?” Kei-chan’s voice seemed a little nervous, and I saw a little head peek out from the stairs. 

“I made breakfast.” I called out, sitting down. “Let’s eat.” 

The sound of light footsteps came as Kei-chan hurried over. He seated himself beside me and stared at the breakfast with a dazed expression. “Nee-san, you can cook?” 

In the past few months, mom had been too depressed to wake up early. Both Kei-chan and I skipped breakfast usually, but I didn’t like that. Kei-chan was still growing up, and he needed proper nutrition to grow up well. 

“Yes, I can cook.” I laughed. “It’s nothing amazing, but I think it should be edible.” 

Kei-chan didn’t look convinced. I mean, he’d never seen me in the kitchen cooking before so it made sense to doubt my capabilities. 

I handed him a spoon. “How does your hand feel today?”

His right hand flexed a little bit, and he grimaced. “Sore. But not as painful as yesterday…” He still used a spoon to eat. As he chowed down on the food, his expression grew increasingly bright. “Yummy!”

I was a little embarrassed at his excited expression. I knew my food was edible, but it wasn’t as terribly delicious as he made it out to be. Mom was way better at cooking, but… she hadn’t really put in much effort in anything unless our father was present. “As long as you like it.” I coughed and began to eat as well. “Eat slowly, and don’t choke.” 

Kei-chan looked at me, gulping down a huge bite. There was a weird dazed expression on his face. 

“What?” I said, feeling self-conscious as I reached to touch my cheek. “Is there something on my face?” 

“No… It’s just…” Kei-chan seemed hesitant. “You’re smiling.” 

“Oh.” I really didn’t know how to respond to that. Honestly, it’d been a long time since I had smiled so easily. I didn’t even realize it. “I’m just happy, I guess.” 

“You’re weird…” The little kid grumbled between bites. “You’ve been acting weird since you came back from soccer camp…” He was sharp, that was for sure. I didn’t even know what to say. His big black eyes looked up at me, and I sensed a little shyness in them. “I like you better like this, so..."

My heart warmed. “En, I won’t go back to the way I was. Kei-chan is my most important little brother, so I’ll just do whatever you like, okay?” 

Kei-chan’s chubby cheeks flushed red, and he quickly shouted, “Do whatever you like!” Then he returned his attention to shoveling food in his mouth. 

The next few days passed in a leisurely manner. Asuka and I accompanied Kei-chan to play around during our last few days of summer vacation. Unlike my last life, I stayed in our hometown and enrolled in the local high school, Yazawa High where Asuka would also be going. Kei-chan enrolled in Yazawa Middle School, which was the public school as opposed to a private school. Mom barely got up most days and seemed to completely give up on life. I urged her to eat and tried hard to get her to pick herself up because I didn’t want her to die an early death. Although I didn’t have positive feelings for her, she was still our mother after all. 

It wasn’t long before the first day of school rolled around, and I woke up early, ate breakfast with Kei-chan, and headed out in my new school uniform to start the beginning of my new life.